


if my heart was a house

by deere



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21929539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deere/pseuds/deere
Summary: so i may as well ditch my dismay...-secret santa gift for reboot! hades is the CEO of a nondescript company and has some computer issues... the equally nondescript wol is there to help. happy holidays! ♡
Relationships: Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Warrior of Light
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	if my heart was a house

**Author's Note:**

  * For [did_you_reboot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/did_you_reboot/gifts).



> don't squint too hard at the details i've never worked at an office nor have i ever worked in an IT department i'm sorry

as golden eyes traced the logo of his computer’s startup for maybe the umpteenth time this morning, hades felt a headache quickly beginning to throb behind his right eye. perhaps it was the frustration of not being able to figure out the problem that was getting to him-- or perhaps he was getting too old for this shit. he’s never normally had a problem with understanding technology, internet-based or otherwise-- but somehow, working at an office job proved to give him more grief than he’s ever expected on the matter. and the fact that it was something so seemingly small and insignificant… 

his gaze averted to the scene outside his windows. snow fell silently over the city, buildings topped with more snow than was forecasted. if he didn’t make this call tonight, he wouldn’t have a chance to until december, and being behind as he always seemed to be with his work, he had hoped to at least close this case before things got too wild toward the end of the year. not only that, but he had to wonder now bad the  _ snow  _ would be once he got out today if he continued these acts of mummery with a ridiculous operating system. it seemed that for all of his cunning and wit, it brought him nothing in the ways of dealing with things that would not-- or  _ could  _ not-- listen to him.

once his home screen began to load in, he patiently awaited for it to load his client, and then proceeded to attempt to call the man he was doing dealings with again. after a few rings, there was silence-- and hades watched as the  _ connecting… _ text blinked to a timer, slowly counting up from 0:00. 

“hello?” he prompted, again, for too many times this morning. and, again, nothing followed but silence.

his finger slammed on the  _ end  _ button on the keyboard, a loud, frustrated sigh escaping him. pinching the bridge of his nose, he attempted to gather his mind and consider his options. he could just leave the call until after the holidays… but that would cause more problems than he’d like to admit. he could use his personal phone-- but then the client would have his personal phone  _ number _ . or… well, he supposed he could…

shifting his gaze to the number book left of his monitor, his eyes locked onto the yellow tab that stuck from it’s pages, marked  _ help _ . hythlodaeus had insisted that he kept one on his desk when he started this job, though hades had vehemently denied needing the assistance through fault of his own pride. for what the man supposed must’ve been payback, his friend left the book on his desk as a gift a few weeks later, with handwritten numbers he might need all lovingly wrapped into one convenient document. and to all the man’s credit, hades used it much more than you’d ever get him to say.

well, he supposed that someone at the office having his personal number would be a lot better than some random person having it.

or maybe not.

he’d just have to risk it, wouldn’t he?

…

“hello, i.t.”

a smooth voice answered with a very obviously rehearsed line. hades clicked his tongue lightly, throwing his head back in his chair and staring up at the ceiling. despite his sour mood, he turned on his business voice easily, crossing his free arm over his chest. “hello. i apologize for calling on a personal number-- i hope that it wasn’t much of a trip-up. my name is hades wright, i’m calling from the ceo’s office. i’m having a bit of trouble with my phone client and i was hoping i could talk to you for a bit of guidance on resolving it.”

there was a brief silence, and then a stuttered  _ ‘one moment, sir’. _ the faint whisper of  _ “you’ll never guess who’s got the damn ceo on the line right now…” _ , he assumed he wasn’t supposed to hear. a soft snort came from him, regardless. that might’ve been the moment they realized they missed the mute button.

“s-sorry, sir, i’m back! hi, i can definitely help you with that.” they began, clearly rushed and flustered. the sound of typing came as feedback on their end of the microphone. “i’ll start with the basics, if that’s alright with you-- have you turned the system on and off?”

“several times.” he responded curtly, hardly moving save for his lips. 

“alright… let’s see. the network seems to be working fine in your sector of the building… and i haven’t received any other calls about that for the day, so i’ll assume it’s something centered on your computer specifically, for now. can you access your firewall?”

“... my what?”

a soft laugh escaped the other line. hades’ brows furrowed.

“sorry, i don’t know why i jumped ahead like that. basically what it does is protects you from potential threats, like viruses and such. however, sometimes in the process, it’ll block good things, too. here, just click the icon in the lower left corner…”

—

“... and you’re all set. you should be able to call freely now. here, let’s test it really quick. call this number on your main phone.”

as the worker on the other line rattled off a few numbers, hades warily typed them into his client, expecting the problem to not have been solved, for such a simple solution. however, as he clicked enter and the phone began to ring, not much longer he heard the line go dead in his ear, a familiar voice ringing from his speaker instead.

“hello? is it working now?”

briefly shell-shocked, hades stared dumbfounded at the screen before him for a few moments. “... hello… uh, yes, it  _ is _ working, i believe.”

“ah, that’s great!” they responded, a smile in their voice. “you should be all set to make that call now, sir.”

“... how did you know that would work? i heard you hang up on the other line.” hades inquired, a lilt of suspicion in his tone. 

a soft laugh echoed over the phone. “it’s my job, mr. wright. besides, if something  _ had _ been wrong, i’ve got your personal phone number, right? and now you have mine, too. so, we’re even.”

realizing what they meant as his gaze ran over the numbers, he felt a small, impressed smile tug at the corner of his lips. setting his cellphone down, he locked his fingers in his lap, leaning back into his chair. “well, color me impressed. thank you for your assistance. perhaps i’ll have to call you again, sometime. — for computer problems, of course.”

“ah, i see… computer problems.” they teased, and hades let out a fond chuckle himself. when he opened his mouth to speak again, however, he heard a ringing noise from the other line and a soft, surprised noise from his recipient. “well, i’ll let you go, then— i’ve got to take this. but i’m glad i could help, mr. wright.”

“please, call me hades.” he responded swiftly, and then leaned forward in his chair, as if that would keep them on the line, somehow. “and i’m glad you could, too.”

he heard a soft breath of a chuckle, and then silence. watching the animation of his client set back to it’s default, he let out a soft, wistful sigh, clicking around a bit to find the number of the man he was trying to reach earlier. while scrolling through his dialed history, he glanced at the number he just called and hesitated. 

admittedly, he sort of… missed the sound of their voice. he supposed it got lonely in the office, and the same at home— living alone wasn’t always something that came easily to one. and their wit was entertaining, along with their transparency. you didn’t get a lot of that, these days, especially while being the head of a business. always having to read between the lines of a sentence got tiresome. talking to them, although simply about a tech issue, came rather easily. 

hades’ gaze shifted to the clock. he had some time to spare before it was  _ entirely _ too late to call that person. 

picking up his phone from the counter again, he began to tap his thumbs against the lit numberpad, and raised the phone to his ear. 

_ ring… _

_ ring… _

_ ring…  _

“hello?”

“hi, this is hades wright again. terribly sorry to reach you on your personal phone, but i didn’t feel like the rigamarole of calling again, getting someone else, and having to explain.” 

leaning forward onto his desk, his eyes roved over the screen of his monitor, his mouse hovering over the number he was supposed to call. “it seems the problem is happening again— i may just need you to come up here and help me, as all of your talk was rather complicated for me. hand off your caller, if you could— and tell your superior i asked for you, should they inquire. i will email them at a later date for confirmation.” 

they seemed to have been in a brief stunned silence, because he almost had to ask after them, for as long as the pause between them was. then, he heard a soft, confused  _ ‘o-okay’,  _ and an even softer  _ ‘let me just— y’shtola, can you take this for me? great, thanks’ _ .

“okay, i’ll be on my way up soon, mr. wri—  _ hades, _ ” they stuttered, though their voice sounded resolute. “hang tight, i should only be about five minutes.”

“perfect. see you then.” he purred, hanging up shortly after and looking at his computer. perhaps he should really turn back on the firewall, if he were to keep up the lie. how that go again, though…?

—

when a timid knock came at his door, he called a quick  _ ‘come in’ _ , eyes locking to it to watch their entrance. as they opened it and stepped in, his eyes lit up with amusement. they looked simply precious— had they dressed up specially for their last day at the office before the holiday?

“hello. here, come behind my desk. i don’t bite unless i’m asked.” he cooed, gesturing them forward with a curl of his fingers. 

nervously, they stepped toward him, rubbing their neck with a laugh. “i-i’m sorry the solution didn’t work, sir. it should’ve worked for anyone, even outside of the building, after you hung up…” 

“oh, nonsense. don’t worry about it. i’ll allow you to take over the operation from here— but do walk me through it, if you could.” he replied nonchalantly, rolling his chair slightly right from it’s spot in front of his desk. “i’d like to know for next time, should i have a similar issue.” 

they nodded, moving to walk behind the desk as instructed. he pointed out the chair in front of it to bring with them, if they so wished, and then allowed them to take over the operation of his computer. he simply watched, listening to the sound of their soothing voice as they ran him through their process, very similar to the one they’d had him doing before. part of him watched the process, and the other watched them as they worked. their concentrated expression, the way their eyes roved over the screen… they definitely weren’t hard on the eyes. 

after they were finished, they leaned back with a smile. “and that should be it. i don’t know how it got turned back on so quickly after, but it should be all set now.”

“yes… what a strange thing. well, thank you regardless— you coming all the way up saved me the stress of having to figure that out once again.” he lied, the memory of him fumbling around his control panel moments earlier mocking him. 

he could see in their eyes, however, that they knew  _ something _ was strange about it. perhaps he didn’t mind that. perhaps it’s what he wanted. “perhaps i’ll have to bother you more in the future— with how good you are at your job, i mean. i expect to have problems in the future with such infernal devices; could i count on you to resolve them?”

their eyes widened slightly, and their cheeks seemed to dust with the lightest shade of pink. “a-ah… of course, mr.— hades.” they replied with a small nod. “any time.”

“thank you.” he gave them a warm smile, though a hint of slyness haunted the corners of it. then, he broke their gaze silently, looking back to his screen and settling back into his spot. “now, you may go. as much of a pleasure it is to chat, i do need to make this call before the end of the day. and i will have that email to your superior sent out before i leave tonight, i assure you.”

nodding quickly, they sat up, grasping the chair they were previously sitting in and beginning to pull it back to its original position. “of— of course, sir. oh— happy holidays, by the way.” 

hades spared a last glance at them at their warm wishes, a hint of genuineness sneaking into his honey-colored eyes. “you as well. thank you again for saving my day, little  _ hero. _ ”

a smile beamed on their lips and they nodded, turning heel to walk out of the office afterward. he watched them walk the entire way to the door, gaze locked to their retreating form. once they were completely out of the room, and he heard the door shut behind them, he chuckled beneath his breath. he felt strangely relaxed, now— as if somebody had given him a full-body massage. if he didn’t have business to attend to, he probably would’ve taken a nap just there at his desk. 

he’d have to think of a few other ways to bother them after they returned to the office. he needed more relaxing talks like that.

—

“you know, hades, i’m beginning to think you’re making up problems just to get me to come up here and see you.”

“would i ever do such a thing, my dear?”

now, rather deep into december, his office was littered with a few festive sorts of decorations. nothing overly gaudy or particularly jolly— just enough to _ ‘humanize him’ _ , as hythlodaeus said. he was recently informed that many of his employees found him frightening— though, he had no idea why….

the specific worker he so dearly appreciated the presence of pulled their usual chair up next to him, taking a look at the computer, currently powered down. hades leaned his chin against his hand with a smirk as they did, reaching to fumble with a button or two before their eyes caught something. 

looking back up at him, they narrowed their eyes with a smile, leaning their face closer to his. “it’s unplugged.”

“oh, dear me. how on earth did that happen?” he asked sarcastically, letting out a soft hum of laughter and they turned away to plug it back in. moments later, the screen lit with the logo, illuminating their faces.

“you’re going to get me in trouble one of these days, hades. i know it.” they chuckled, leaning back up to look at him. 

“with who? me?” he asked rhetorically, rolling his eyes theatrically. “just enjoy the time away from your desk, hero. and here— share some of this with me.”

their eyes travelled to the desk where he began to push a plate toward them, holiday themed with a few colorful cookies and candies decorating the surface in a festive red, white and green. they chuckled and grabbed a small one, taking a bite out of it and smiling. “thank you.”

“of course. i’m not much for cookies, anyways. hythlodaeus brought those to me.” he mumbled, looking away from them to log into his computer. 

“aw, he loves you.” they replied endearingly, though he let out a heavy sigh in response. “you know, he really cares about you, i think. more than you care about yourself, sometimes, probably.”

“probably. but that’s no matter— i still don’t care for cookies. have as many as you’d like.”

a small silence fell over them after he finished, only the sounds of the other chewing to be heard. hades noticed the quiet and briefly rolled over options in his head for something to start conversation. he brought them up here for a reason, after all. 

“do you have any plans for the holidays?” he asked nonchalantly, to which the chewing notably slowed. 

“um…” they began, voice muffled, mouth a bit full. swallowing, they continued, “not really. i don’t really have much family to visit around the holidays, to be honest. not this year, at least. i had a small party with some coworkers last night, but i left rather early since i had to come in for work today.”

a frown tugged the corner of hades’ lips at the news, silent for a moment. he had no place to scold them, he understood— he didn’t have much family to celebrate with, either. he hadn’t had many plans besides going home and sleeping through it all— well, no plans except for…

gaze shifting to the small slab of cardstock beside his monitor, embezzled with glitter and fancy font, he thought for a beat about it. his silence eventually prompted the other to continue talking, though, concerned that they had caused an awkward air with their sob story.

“it’s okay, though. i don’t mind having a quiet holiday.” they waved, a soft chuckle escaping them. 

a hum left hades, and after a few seconds, he picked up the invitation and slid it across his desk towards them. they peeked at it quietly, reading it as he waited for them to absorb the offer. 

_ please join us for _

**_the most wonderful time of the year_ **

_ come and celebrate the close of the year with a bit of revelry— a drink, a laugh, and some fine company. _

_ december 24th _

_ hythlodaeus _

“would you like to join me?” he inquired confidently, still looking at the screen of his computer, sifting through emails. 

“i—… o-oh, i mean, i don’t…” they laughed, and he could hear the flush in their voice. “it would be a bit inappropriate for me to show up with you, no? besides, i don’t particularly have a nice party outfit to show up in, and it’s really not… much of my scene… i could very well embarrass you.”

“all of those things are nonissues, i’d say.” he confessed, pushing away from his desk suddenly to access the drawer beneath it. he turned the key sitting in it to reveal a few important looking manila folders, files, some envelopes, and a single credit card. picking it up, he handed it to them, hardly batting an eyelash as he did. “pick something nice out to wear. you won’t embarrass me any more than hythlodaeus will, i assure you.”

looking positively awestruck, they saved their hands in a small panic, shaking their head. “n-no, i can’t accept this. it’s an absolutely ludicrous offer.”

clicking his tongue, he leaned his jaw into one of his fists, elbow propped against his desk. “i will not suffer you spending the holiday alone and miserable. if you don’t take me up on this offer, i’ll be forced to find another way to spend the evening with you. now, run along— the event’s tonight, so i’ll excuse you from work for the rest of the day. you only have an hour or so left anyway, yes?”

stuttering and ready to argue, he simply maintained his gaze a few more moments before they sealed their lips shut, looking down nervously at the card as they took it from his fingers. his firm expression melted into a smile, and he reached to pat their head. “good, good. text me your address sometime beforehand— i’ll come and pick you up.”

with the following silence as he turned away, he half expected them to start arguing again, or perhaps to outright say  _ ‘no’ _ and leave. instead, he heard them get up to leave, and their timid voice started. “thank you, hades. really.”

and his expression betrayed the warmth their voice sparked in him, turning his head to smile back at them, in one of his more genuine moments. “anything for you, hero.” 

as they gathered their stuff and scampered from the room, he couldn’t help but continue smiling even as their warmth faded from it. glancing over at the spot they were previously sitting in, he looked at the plate of cookies, now with one less inhabiting it, and the crumbs left behind on the glass desktop beneath it. 

a few moments later, as if on queue, he watched his phone light up with a text. 

> **hero**
> 
> i’m sorry, i forgot the cookies! bring those too when you come!

smile playing at his lips, he shook his head, looking back up at his computer screen blankly. his heart fluttered for a moment, and he wondered briefly if he was in over his head with this person.

well, if nothing else, this should be an interesting night. 

**Author's Note:**

> happy holidays reboot! hope it's a great one ♡


End file.
